Like Schopenhauer, Houellebecq argues that suffering is not an accidental byproduct of existence. It is existential.

“All existence is an expansion, and a crushing.”

He suggests that poetry, art, expressive language, and all true creation spring from this pain. The poet’s first task, he claims, is “to return to the origin; that is, to suffering.”

In short: embrace the ugly, the marginal, the painful because that is life. And instead of shying away from the hideous torrents of this world, recognize it, embrace it, and use it to create.

“Put your finger on society’s wounds and press down good and hard.”

Learn to become poet; it’s to unlearn how to live.

—Michel Houellebecq